How not to give a presentation

I doodled this list during a particularly grueling workshop presentation:

HOW NOT TO CONDUCT A TRAINING WORKSHOP

  1.  Assume your audience consists entirely of peer reviewers judging the suitability of your presentation for publication.
  2. Make sure that every facet and angle of the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of your presentation are covered.
  3. Present a thoroughly detailed and annotated literature review of all prior results.
  4. Design all PowerPoint slides in 10-point font or less.
  5. Present all quantitative results in at least two different useless graphical formats, courtesy of the fun charts that Microsoft Excel will let you make.
  6. Create multiple acronyms and use them aggressively.
  7. Devote the most amount of time to the most difficult topics and processes that only a select few will be asked to perform.
  8. Name-drop the top brass.
  9. Demonstrate complicated software without providing notes for the audience’s future reference.
  10. Emphasize how much the new process costs, so that everyone fully comprehends how importance it is that the new process doesn’t fail.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.